Latch operating mechanism



April 24, 1956 H. G. CARSLEY ET AL 2,743,126

LATCH OPERATING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 31, 1954 INVENTORS. HAROLD 6. CARSLE), JOHN P. \SCHUREN, WALTER H. W/C/(SO/V,

'XDWAfl/QZ their Attorney.

April 1956 H. 3. CARSLEY ET AL 2,743,126

LATCH OPERATING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 31, 1954 their Afforn e y.

E v! N) R E m L N 8 3 E K m ww W M H W wH w P m 0 N r M M H m w M W 2 w w 6 0 i Q m m0 2 O Q Ma Md rl'l'll'! 7 7? 1| r1 ,1 i 0v 8 H x 3 M. 2 2 E w \W United States Patent LATCH OPERATING MECHANISM Harold G. Carsley, John P. Schuren, and Walter H. Wickson, Waukegan, Ill., assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application March 31, 1954, Serial No. 419,948

1 Claim. (Cl. 292-49) This invention relates to an improved operating mechanism for latches.

Our mechanism can be applied to any closure member whose latch includes a pair of opposed reciprocable plunger rods mounted along its free edge and engageable with keepers or the like at opposite ends of the member. For purposes of illustration, We show and describe the mechanism as used on a swinging metal gate which includes a tubular upright along its free edge. In this example the operating mechanism is located intermediate the height of the upright, and the plunger rods are housed within the upright and extend in opposite directions from said mechanism. The operating mechanism simultaneously retracts both rods to release the gate or projects them to latch the gate.

An object of our invention is to provide an improved and compact operating mechanism which eliminates lost motion and enables the closure member to be latched or released with a minimum of movement.

A more specific object is to provide an operating mechanism in which the respective plungers carry gear racks interconnected by small pinions, and one of the plungers carries a second gear rack operated by a larger gear segment connected to the handle.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the inven tion, we have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a portion of a gate equipped with a latch operating mechanism constructed in accordance with our invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the gate; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line Ill-III of Figure 1.

Figures 1 and 2 show a portion of a typical tubular frame swinging gate, which includes an upright at its free edge, that is, the edge remote from its hinges.

Intermediate its height said upright has an enlarged section 12, the outer face of which carries a housing 13 for the operating mechanism hereinafter described. The upright contains upper and lower reciprocable plunger rods 14 .and 15 which extend in opposite directions from said housing. When the upper plunger 14 is projected, it can engage a keeper 16 carried by a headrail 17 of the supporting structure. When the lower plunger is projected, it can engage a keeper 18 embedded in the pavement beneath. Thus the two plunger rods and their keepers are cooperable to latch the gate in its closed position. Preferably the upper end of the upright 10 carries a stop 19 which is engageable with the headrail 17 to prevent the gate from swinging inwardly beyond this position.

As shown in Figure 3, our operating mechanism includes gear racks 20 and 2.1 which have opposed sets of gear teeth. These racks are housed within the enlarged section 12 of the upright 10 and are connected to the upper and lower plunger rods 14 and 15 respectively through clevises 22 and 23. The upper gear rack 20 is shown offset outwardly from the upper plunger rod 14, while the lower gear rack is shown ofiset inwardly from the lower plunger rod 15, although obviously the olfset arrangement could be reversed. The outer face of the enlarged section 12 has an opening 24 over which the housing 13 is mounted. The inside face of said housing carries a gear box 25 which receives the two gear racks 20 and 21. A pair of small pinions .26 are rotatably mounted in the gear box 25 and engage the opposed teeth of two gear racks to transmit movement from one to the other, but in opposite directions.

A handle shaft 27 is rotatably mounted in the housing 13 and carries a gear segment 28 of relatively large radius compared with that of the pinions 26. The outer face of the upper gear rack 20 has a second set of gear teeth 29 which the gear segment 28 engages. One end of the shaft 27 carries a downwardly extending operating handle 30, which preferably has an inward extension 31 enabling the handle to be operated from inside the gate as Well as outside. Preferably the handle 39 and housing 13 carry cooperating ears 32 and 33 which register when the handle is down. These ears are adapted to receive a padlock to prevent unauthorized opening of the gate.

In operation, the handle 30 normally is down. It can be lifted or its extension 31 pulled down to rotate the shaft 27 and gear segment 23 clockwise as viewed in Figure 3. This movement operates the gear racks 20 and 21 and pinions 26 to retract both the plunger rods 14 and 1:3. The reverse movement projects the rods. The relatively large radius of the gear segment 28 enables movement of the handle to' be kept to a minimum, and yet does not unduly increase the size of the operating mechanism. in practice we find that turning the handle through less than a quarter revolution of the shaft 27 imparts sufiicient movement to the plunger rods to latch or release the gate.

While we have shown and described only a single embodiment of the invention, it. is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, we do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claim.

We claim:

The combination, with a closure member which has a free edge and includes a tubular element extending along said free edge and a pair of opposed plunger rods mounted for reciprocable movement in said tubular element and adapted to engage keepers at opposite ends thereof, of an operating mechanism for said rods comprising a housing fixed to said tubular element intermediate its length and projecting outwardly therefrom, said tubular element having an opening in its face covered by said housing, a gear box fixed to said housing and extending through said opening and being situated within said tubular element, said gear box having openings at its top and bottom ends and at the side adjacent said housing, a pair of gear racks attached to the inner ends of the respective rods and being laterally offset in opposite directions from the center lines of the rods and extending into said gear box through the openings in the respective ends thereof, said gear racks having opposed sets of gear teeth, a pair of relatively small vertically spaced pinions journaled. on horizontal axes within said gear box and both meshing with both of said gear racks for transmitting movement of either of said rods to the other but in the opposite direction, one of said gear racks being situated adjacent said housing and having a second set of gear teeth exposed to said housing through the opening in the side of the gear box, a shaft journaled in said housing, a gear segment of larger radius than said pinions mounted on said shaft within said housing and extending through the openings in said tubular element and the side of said gear box and meshing with said second set of gear teeth, and a handle fixed to 3 said Ishaft ioutside said chousing and adapted 'to engage or disengage said rods with their keepers by turning said shaft a maximum of a quarter revolution.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Zimmerman June 1, 1880 Kemp Dec. 27, 1932 4 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Nov. 4, 1904 Switzerland Dec. 16, 1950 Germany Mar. 31, 1943 

